The invention relates to an apparatus for the storage and dispensing of bank notes, preferably having a device connected in series to verify the genuineness of bank notes inserted.
Apparatuses for the storage and dispensing of bank notes are known, for example, in the form of the cash dispensers operated by banks which dispense monetary amounts within the existing credit limit after the insertion of credit or cheque cards and after entering a PIN number. Such cash dispensers are, however, very complex. With gambling machines, for example, there is a need to pay out monetary amounts up to, for example, DM 200.00 after winning as part of a special game series; this is currently generally done by paying out coins. However, to avoid the pay-out of a large number of coins, there is a need to pay out large amounts using bank notes from gambling machines, too, particularly if the gambling machines are also designed to accept notes to deposit the game credit. However, only those apparatuses for the dispensing of bank notes can be considered for gambling machines which can be manufactured at a favourable cost.
It is therefore the object of the invention to provide an apparatus of the type first given which is characterised by a simple and therefore economically performable construction with the required security of pay-out.
This object is solved in accordance with the invention with an apparatus of the type first given by a compartment module having components lying next to each other, separated from each other by partitions and open at their end sides in the form of a block being guided in the guides of a housing movably backwards and forwards by a controlled drive, by a conveying device or slide feeding the flat bank notes opening in front of a side forming the insertion side of the compartment module, by a slider travellable to and fro by a controlled drive being guided in the housing for the storage of the bank notes in the transverse middle plane of the bank note supplied in each case, which slider pushes the bank notes while folding them in the middle in a loop-like manner into a compartment of the compartment module travelled into the middle plane, andxe2x80x94for the dispensing of a bank notexe2x80x94by the compartment storing this bank note being travelled in front of a dispensing device into which an extraction device, for example a controlled gripper or slider, feeds the bank note stored in this compartment.
The apparatus in accordance with the invention can be implemented in a simple design and is essentially characterised by a compartment module guided movably in a housing in whose compartments the bank notes are stored ordered by value in a form folded over in a loop-like manner. For their storage, the bank notes can be inserted easily into the compartments by a slider. The dispensing is performed in a correspondingly simple manner by an extraction device or a gripper which extracts the bank note demanded for dispensing in each case from its compartment travelled to the dispensing position and places it in the dispensing device.
Appropriately, a drive carrier is provided for the mounting of the slider. Here, the individual compartments of the compartment module have such a wide width that the swivel lever does not catch therein.
In accordance with a preferred aspect, it is provided that the dispensing device comprises an extraction roller pair. Here, the dispensing slot or slit can be located directly behind the extraction toiler pair. If, however, the dispensing slot is further away from the extraction roller pair, then behind the extraction roller pair there is connected a conveying device which can comprise, for example, driven toothed belts under which the bank notes folded in the middle can be transported. Here, the driven toothed belts disposed in parallel next to each other are guided over a metal plate so that the folded note is transported between the metal plate and the two belts. By means of the conveying device it is thus possible to position the dispensing slot at different points of the relevant housing depending on the application. On the one hand, the dispensing and insertion of the bank notes can be performed using the same slot. Furthermore, it is possible that a separate dispensing slot and a separate insertion slot exist, with the dispensing of the bank notes taking place at a dispensing slot located underneath the insertion slot. The dispensing of the bank notes can, however, also take place at a point remote from the insertion slot, e.g. in a pay-out cup.
Appropriately, drives controlled by a microprocessor are provided for the compartment module, the slider and the extraction device for the bank notes.
In accordance with another preferred aspect, it is provided that the apparatus in accordance with the invention for the storage and dispensing of bank notes can be coupled to a bank note tester known per se. The intake apparatus for the bank notes is here designed in such a way that the bank notes pass the corresponding bank note tester along their transportation path and are verified accordingly there.